Lock



I. A. McCORMACK.

LOCK.

APPLicATloN FILED 1AN.20,11919.

n Patented June 1f, 1920.

OPENED AT N EVVYD ATTORNEY inseam.

Unis

IRA A. MCCORMACK, or NEW YORK, iv. Ys y n osrics.

LOCK.

Specification of Letters atent. Patented June 15, 1.92.0.

' Application ieaianmry zo, i919. serial imevaios.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, IRA A. MCCORMACK,

a citizen ofthe United States, and a resi-` Y primarily to provide for *use inV conjunctionl with the lock proper of said patent a type of fragile seal which is required to be broken before the look may be operated for being opened. The seal also serves tovallow a record to be kept in association therewith of the time and place of opening of the vlock as wellas serving to permit a record to be kept of the container upon which the lock is employed; thus, providing a device of great usefulness for tending to prevent the doors of freight cars, buildings and other struc-V tures or inclosures from being fraudulently opened when locked.

Another ob`ect of the invention is to provide a retaining element tending to prevent the shackle of the lock from being locked until the seal is applied to the locky as well as serving to require the seal to be broken before the shackle is-unlocked when locked. A further object of the invention is to v provide a protecting element whereby the alarm of the lock will be protected against being tampered withr whenvtlie lock is in use.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented inthe accompanying'drawing forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of referencelindicate corresponding parts in all the views,

the said invention being moreV fully de-y scribed hereinafter, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of lock showing the improvements constituting my present invention as applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a rearv elevation of the fragile seal used on the lock. y

Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in section, of the lock with one of its side plates removed, and which shows the operative mechanism of the lock.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken through the lock on the line V-V of Fig. 1.

Vsubstantially the Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken through the lock on the line V-V' of Fig. 1.

"Fig 6 is an elevation of a recording slip which may be used in conjunction with the seal of the lock.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of another form oi recording slip which may be used in conjunction with the seal of the lock.

Fig. 8 is a plan of the retaining element used in the lock.

Fig. 9 is an edge view of the -retainin element.

Fig. 10 isa plan of the protectingelement also used'in the lock, and

p Fig. 11 is an edge view of the protecting element.

Theinvention consists mainly of employing a seal 10, a retaining element 11 and ak protecting element 12 incombination with Va lock, as 13, having a casing,as 141, and a shackle 15 which are preferably substantially'similar to the corresponding parts of the lock shown in my Patent No. 1,219,973.'

The casing 111 ofthe lockmay be formed with a front plate 16, lrear plate 17 and a `peripheral wall 18 provided on the edges of these plates. `Tlir`ough the upper part of the wall 18 at the rear edges of the plates 16 and 17 is an opening 19leading intothe interior of the casing, and through the uplper part-of the peripheral wall at the' forward edges of the front plate andrear plate isv another opening 2O leading into the interior of the casing. Movably disposed through the rear opening 19 of the casing is one end of the shackle 15 which may be shape of anl inverted U, and this shackle is of a size whereby its other end may be guided inwardly and outwardly of the opening 20 of the casing. The end portion of the shackle in the rear opening 19 of the casing is,` somewhat enlarged, asat 22 and the lower part of this enlarged end protrudes Adownwardly into the casing as well as being tapered, as at 23. Projecting downwardly also into the casing from the shackle below its tapered end isv a flat presser member or extension 24; of considerably less thickness than the thickness of the enlarged l end of the shackle, Vand this extensiony is formed so as to extend practically the full length of the edges of the tapered part of Y tlieenlarged end. Transversely through the of which communicates with the opening 19, while the other end of the passage terminates interiorly of the casing.V Also through the central part of the enlarged end of the shackle crosswise of the chamber 25- is another passage 26 which communicates with the chamber 25, and through the front plate 16 and rear plate of the casing are holes'27 and 28 which are in register with the passage 26. The holes 27 `and 28 are somewhat smaller than the passage 26 ofthe shackle, while the chamber 25 and passage 26of the shackle may be of similar vdiameters. 1n proximity to the second endv of the shackle is a notch 29 which is in opposed ,n relation to the enlargedl end 22 of. the

rnotch 29 Vof the shackle.

shackle.

When the shackle 15 is. closed on the casing V14 and itsnotched end is inserted in the opening of the casing the shackle may be releasably lockedV by operating a mechanism, as 30, which is preferably of similar construction to the `operating mechanism used in the lock disclosed inmy Patent No.

' 1,219,973. The mechanism 30 consists of a vslide 31 with a recess 32, and this slide has lug 33a for-.removable engagementi in the operated ,by a substantially lV-shaped lever 33 arranged so that the free end of one of its arms is in movable engagementwith the edge of' thektapered end 23 of the enlarged part 22 of the shackle-while the end of the second arm of theV lever is movably seated in the recess 32 of the slide 31, and extending from the end part of this second arm of the lever is a pin 34. The pin 34 is in the path ofthe shoulder 35 of a finger 36 which is held interiorly of the casing on one end of a pin 39 rotatable in an opening in the front plate 16 Vof the casing, and on Ythe end of the pin exteriorly of the casing is l held the upper end ofv a substantially recimity to the opening 19, and protrudingv "downwardly from the central vpart of the second arm of this spring is a lug 45. The spring 42 is tensioned' for normally serving to swing the second arm of the lever 33 as well aS the slide 31 toward the front opening 2O of the `casing so that the lug 33a of the slide will be yieldingly movedrcrosswise of the opening 20 as well as into and out of engagement with the notch 29 of the shackle 15.

The slide 31 is In the open end of the chamber 25 'of the enlarged end 22 of the shackle 15 interiorly of the casing is removably placed an alarm 46 preferably in the form of a fulminating cap or blank cartridge adapted to be eX- ploded by a hammer, as 47. The hammer 47 is of a form similar to the hammer employed in the lock of thev above named patent, and this hammer is made of a spring metal mar bent to providea loop 48 which is disposed over a pin 49 arotruding interiorly of the casing from the rear plate 17 fof the casing. One of the arms 50 of the hammer 47 has a lug 50L projecting through an opening, not shown, which is provided inV the rear plate of the casing for holdin this arm against movement and the secon arm 51 of the hammer. is of a length sothat its free end is in movable' contact with the lug` 45 of the spring 42. Ony the second arm 51 of the spring hammer is a head 52 arrangedso as to strike the cartridge 46 for explodingv thecartridge when this arm is released from Vthe lug 45 of the spring 42 by the operation'of the mechanism 30, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

The seal 10se'rves to allow a record to be Y kept of the opening of the lock by the person so authorized as well aspermitting a 'record to be kept of the number of the car, on which the lock may be used, besides tending to prevent an attempt to fraudulently open the lock. The seal 10 lis preferably in the form of a plate of porcelain, or other fragile material corresponding in shape to approximately the upper half of the front plate 16 of the casing 14 of the lock, and in the central part of the lower edge ofthe seal is an angular recess 53 of a size to removably accommodate the upper end of the operating bar 40 of the mechanism 30 of the lock. In the upper left hand corner of the `sealorfrajgile plate 10 is an elongated opening, as 54, which. is in register withV two registered holes 55 and 56 one in the front plate and the other in the Vrear plate of the casing. the seal is a second elongated opening 57 28 of the casing besides being in register with the passage 26 of the enlarged part 22 of the shackle. A

The retaining element 11 is in the form of apbolt which is freelyrotatable in the holes 55 and 56 of the casing of thevlock as well In the upper right hand corner of which is in register with the holes V27 and as being rotatable in the opening 54 of the Y fragile seal 10, and this bolt is of a length to extend through this opening of the seal. On the end of the bolt exteriorlyV of the seal is an elongated flat head 59 which is. similar in shape to the shape of the opening 54 of the seal, but this head isslightly smaller than the opening to allow the seal to be removably guided over the head.v The part of the bolt between the front plate and rear the front plate and rear plate of the casing of the lock. The flat faces of the enlarged part of the bolt coincide with the fiat faces of the head 59 of the bolt, andwhen the head of the bolt is arranged, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, crosswise ofthe v opening 54 of the seal 10 one of the faces of the enlarged part 60V will Abe adjacent to or in contact with the end of the notched shackle 15 when locked to the casing. 'When the bolt is in this position its head 59 Vserves to lock the seal 10 on the casing of the lock in a manner whereby the seal must be broken across its opening54 before being removed from the casing, and also when the bolt is in this position its enlarged part 60 serves to prevent the bolt being rotated until the shackle is unlocked by operating the bar 40 .to operate the mechanism 30. When the shackle is unlocked and its notched end is swung outwardly of the casing the bolt may be turned one half a revolution, and its flat enlarged part 60 will be likewise rotated so that one of its edges will extend toward the opening 2O of the casing sufficient distance toprevent the shackle from being relocked until a new seal is applied to the casing of the lock, as will be subsequently explained.

r1`he protecting element 12 is also in the form of a bolt which is freely rotatable in the registered openings 27 and 28 of the casingof the lock, but the bolt is held .against rotation in the passage 26 of the enlarged part 22 of the shackle 15. The bolt or protecting element is of a length to extend beyond the seal 10 in the opening 57 in which the bolt is also freely rotatable. On the end of the bolt protruding through the opening 57 of the seal is a fiat head 61 corresponding in shape to the rectangular opening of the seal, but this head is somewhat smaller than the opening so that the seal may beeasily guided thereover. By forming this opening of the seal and the head 61 of the bolt or protecting element 12 of rectangular shapes the bolt when turned so that its head is crosswise of the opening of the seal this bolt and the retaining bolt 11 will cause the seal to be locked on the casing of the lock. The part of the protecting bolt 12 in the opening 26 of the enlarged part 22 of the shackle is, as at 62, in approximately a triangular shape and the shackle is rigidly held on this triangular part to prevent tampering withthe fulminating capor blank cartridge 46 when applied in the chamber 25 of the shackle by inserting a sharp instrument in the rear of the chamber through the opening 19 of the casing of the lock. To prevent backfire of the fulminating cap 46 when exploded extending interiorly of the casing of the lock from its front plate is a lug, as 63, whichis arranged so 'that the head of the fulminatc ing cap will be adjacent thereto when the shackle is closed on the casing 1,4. V

In the rear face of the fragile seal 10 is a lrecess 64 for reception of a strip of paper orl cardboard or othery suitablematerial, as 65 Fig. 6, on which' the seal member, or the number of the car, or any other record may be inscribed so that@ traceof the opening of the lock may be kept. 1f desired oneor more strips of paper o r cardboard or the like, as 6,6Fig. 7, havingholes 67 and 68 may be guided over the bolts 11 and 12 so as to'be disposed between the seal 10 and the casing of the lock for keeping desired records thereon, such as thetime and'place and by whom l the lock was unlocked.

When the lock is used the notched endof the shackle 15 is releasedby swinging the bar 40 toward the forward edge of the cas'- ing. The shoulder 35 of the finger l36 will then engage the pin 34 of the V-,shaped lever 33, andthis lever will be swung toward the enlarged part 22 of the shackle. The slide 31 will also be likewise moved, and in tur the lug 33a of the slide will be'removed from the notch 29 of the slide. The shackle is l then' swung open from the casing of the lock, 'and with this movement of these parts of the mechanism 30 the arm 51 of the spring 47 will alsobe released from the lug 45 of the c spring 42.V `When the shackle15 is swung sufficient distance so .that theend of the chamber 25 of the shackle normally on the `interiorof the casing 14 is out ofthe opening 19 of the casing the fulminating cap or blank cartridge is placedl in the chamber. With the opening movement of the shackle the protecting element or boltl 12 will be also turned to cause the head 61- of this `bolt to be rotated Yfrom a position transversely of the casing ofthe lock to avertical position, and the retaining element or bolt 11 is like- -wise turned. One or more of the strips 66 are also arranged on the bolts 11 and 12, after which the strip 65 is placed in the recess 64 of the seal 10, and thev seal is guided over the heads of the bolts as well as being positioned v in straddle arrangement over the upper end of the bar 40, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the strips 65 and 66 will be between the seal and the casing of the lock. The retaining bolt 11 is then turned so that its head 59 is crosswise of the opening 54 of the seal at which time the enlarged part 60 of this bolt will also be revolubly moved to allow the notched end of the shackle to be inserted in the opening 20 for being locked to the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 3. With the swinging of the shackle 15 to an open position from the casing 14, as above explained, the

tapered end 23 of the enlarged part 22 of` ico of the arm of the V-shap'ed lever 33 and the flat presser member or extension 24 of the shackle will engage the arm 51 of the spring '47 for forcincr this arm in a direction to cause its free end to engage the lug 45 of the spring 42.- The head 52 of the spring hammer 47 will thus be arrangedv for being released Yto explode the fulminating cap or blank cartridge 46, and when the shackle is swung to a closed position on theV lock,

also as above explained,- the tapered endY 23 of the enlarged part l22 of the shackle will rengage the adjacent arm of the VV-shaped lever 33 which in turn will cause the slide 31 with the lug 33a to beguided rtoward the rear edge of the casing 14 to vallow the notched end of the shackle to be inserted suflicient distance into the casi-ng through its opening 2O.` The tension ofthe spring 42 will cause a reverse movement ofthe `V-shap'ed lever, besides causing a reverse inovementof the slide 31 to reinsert the lug 33 into the notch 29 of the shackle.

In order to unlock the shackle when lthe l lock is in use, the seal 10 should be broken to permit its removal entirely from the casing, and the 'severed parts* of the seal together with the strips 651 and 66 may be preserved for keeping a record of the openingof the lock.' The mechanism 30 is then operated,

i as hereinbefore explained, to unlock the shackle, andA with the operation 'of the mechanism the cartridge 56 will be exploded by the hammer 52 on the release of the arm 51 of the spring hammer 47 with the lug 45.

of the spring 42. The explosion of the cartridge 46 will thereby sound an alarm so that the openingof the lock may be investigated to find out if the lock was tampered with by an unauthorized person.

In the foregoing description, I have embodied the preferred form of my invention, but do not Wish to be understood as limiting Vmyself thereto, as I am aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the principle, o'r sacrificing any ofthe advantages of this invention,

5 therefore I reserve to myself the right to make such changes as fairlygfall within the scope thereof.

' Having thus described my invention, claimas new-'and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a lock having a casing with-a piv,

ing when the shackle is closed on the casing, l

a protective element in the chamber for preventing the' explosive element being tampered with from the exterior of the casing.

3. In a lock, a bolt element pivoting a shackle to the casing of the lock, said shackle having a chamber so that the bolt element is disposed thereacross and the part of the bolt element within the chamber being formed whereby entrance to the chamber from the exterior of the casing will be Aobstructed when the shackle i's 'closed on the casing.`

lThis specification signed and witnessed this 18th day of January A. D. 1919.

IRA A. MCCORMACK. Y Vitnesses:

D. KOEPER, J. FREDERICK CRYER. 

